Saturday, March 19, 2011

Slow And Steady.... Means You're Dead.

A group of us were eating dinner last night (on the patio... in 80 degree weather.... with a perfect breeze), and I mentioned to Wes that I wouldn't mind shooting with the boys one day. Not photography shooting, but shooting shooting.

I didn't realize my comment would spark such a reaction from both Wes and Michael. After dessert we headed to Wal-Mart, picked up some ammunition and planned our adventure.

Have I mentioned I've never really shot a gun before?

"One day" turned into this morning--we woke up and headed to the gun range, accompanied by three friends: a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum revolver (previously owned by my grandad), a Springfield XD-9, and a Taurus PT1911. The previous sentence means absolutely nothing to me and I had to ask Michael to repeat the names four times.

Moving on.

As soon as we arrived I put on the ear muffs and prayed this would not be the day some random dude decided to take out his angst on the human to his right (more specifically: human to his right named Wes, Michael, or Merd). We were in luck and are all alive and well. Thank you, Lord.

You guys, it was awesome. I'm typically not a gun person. I would never keep one in my side drawer, never hunt an innocent animal, and I think war is highly overrated for crying out loud, but shooting metal targets was a blast.

And dare I say I was decent? There were six targets and we loaded the guns with six bullets each time so no second chances. A handful of times I shot all six but most of the time I missed one or two. Michael and Wes were both very good and very quick. In the time it took me to shoot two targets they'd shot all of them. They were so helpful and patient, not to mention they gave great tips (e.g., "push forward with your right arm, pull back with your left"). I know I added an interesting dynamic to their typical boys-only outing.

Such a fun experience and I even have a small battle wound on my left shoulder (damn flying shells) to prove I was there. My cool points are at an all-time high. And what a neat feeling to shoot my grandad's gun--I only wish he could have seen me. :)

Michael actually got a quick video. It begins in the middle but gives you an idea of my turtle-like pace. :)

Love the post, but just wanted to let you know I thought of you while watching 'Pawn Stars' the other night and some guy sold a Peter Lik pic valued at $25,000 for $5,000. Maybe someday you can find such a fool. I also started looking at some more of his stuff myself. He is amazing! Thanks for introducing me to such a great form of art.